Nigeria has become the leading destination for Chinese battery exports in Africa during the first nine months of 2025, a period in which Beijing recorded a 24% year‑on‑year surge in shipments of batteries and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
According to a report by Ember, Nigeria spent between $350m and $400m on importing batteries — critical components for solar systems and electric vehicles.
Since mid‑2022, batteries have ranked as China’s most lucrative clean energy technology export, generating about $60bn in receipts so far this year.
Globally, China’s top battery export destinations include Germany, the United States, Vietnam, the Netherlands, India, and South Korea.
Within Africa, Nigeria’s import bill was nearly double that of South Africa and far ahead of other countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, and Morocco, which also recorded steep increases in battery imports.
Nigeria’s appetite for batteries and BESS has remained strong despite higher import costs.
Prices have been driven up by a 20% duty on lithium‑ion batteries and a 5% customs duty on imported solar panels, which are also subject to a 5% VAT.
Policy shifts fuel solar adoption
The Bola Tinubu administration’s removal of petrol subsidies in mid‑2023 accelerated the shift toward renewable energy, particularly solar as more households and businesses moved away from petrol-powered generators.
This shift has also resulted in the high demand for lithium batteries – an indispensable component of solar systems.
These batteries store excess solar energy generated during the day for use at night and serve as backup power during bad weather or prolonged outages.
Nigeria holds lithium reserves. But much of this remains underdeveloped, save for commercial mining which has begun in a few select states across the country like Nassarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti and Cross River.
The Ministry of Solid Minerals Development said lithium is topping the charts of minerals that have attracted significant foreign interests.
As of February 2025, Nigeria had two commissioned lithium processing factories and another under construction.
Lithium is not only vital for renewable energy storage systems, but also for electric vehicles.
Forecasts by 6W Research suggest a steady growth in Nigeria’s lithium market between 2025 and 2031, largely because of EV adoption and renewable energy storage.
This year the market is expected to grow at 2.11%, peak at 2.64% in 2027, before stabilizing somewhere around 2.18% by 2029.